The misappropriation and improper distribution of video and audio works results in substantial revenue losses for producers of the content. These losses are passed onto the public by higher prices on the legitimately purchased works. Thus, improper distribution, also sometimes referred to as piracy, of high value content is therefore a major concern for providers of such content.
Due to technical advances, it is easier than ever to download, copy, edit, and distribute large files such as movies. Based on an estimate from the Motion Picture Association (MPA), the worldwide motion picture industry, including domestic and international producers, distributors, theaters, video stores and pay-per-view operators lose billions every year as a result of improper distribution. It harms the entertainment industry and U.S. economy due to loss of revenue, jobs, and export surplus. Piracy also hurts consumers as it thwarts innovation and is a scourge to the public as well as the industries and artists that help to generate valuable works. Further details are available from “The Cost of Movie Piracy” available at http://www.mpaa.org/leksummaryMPA%20revised.pdf.
Another ill effect of improper distribution is that poor quality copies of the works are distributed which results in a lower entertainment experience from the end users. The artists and the producers also suffer from these poor quality pirated copies, as their reputation and hard work are not being given proper representation.
Typically, copies of the original content are stored in digital media files. As these digital copies are shared, different versions may be constructed by transforming the digital files. These transformations are varied, but some examples are resizing the video images, changing aspect ratio, adding or removing borders, applying different video and audio compression algorithms to reduce the file size, adding subtitles, cropping the images, mixing different audio tracks, such as other languages with a video track and changing frame rates for play back on different devices.
One way of fighting improper distribution is to embed unique and identifiable information into video and audio content, such as forensic marks. As used herein, forensic marks refer to any of the indicia that can be used to identify a particular work, whether deliberate or unintentional, active or passive. Some of these marks are not truly discernable at normal play back condition, but are detectable by content analysis. The objective of such marks is to make them detectable even after the copy has undergone different transformations from the original source. Marking techniques are sometimes used to help identify a legitimate work from one that has been improperly copied and distributed.
Digital watermarking is the process of embedding information into a digital signal. If the signal is directly copied, the watermark information is transferred to the copy. Invisible watermarking refers to watermarking that is hidden from visibility making detection by unauthorized persons more difficult. In a typical watermarking system, the watermark is embedded into the host file such that any copy from the host or source file contains the watermark. During the detection or extraction phase, processing is performed to locate and identify the watermark and therefore locate the source of the digital work. As with visible forensic marks, the intent of the digital watermark is to create an addition to the original content that will remain regardless of the transformations applied to digital copies. However, since digital watermarks are not visible, they may not be reproduced when the content undergoes digital-to-analog or analog-to-digital conversion, such as videotaping and screen projection, sometimes referred to as the analog hole or analog reconversion problem.
Presently, the analysis for the markings is largely addressed by manual inspection of the media files. However, due to the large data size involved in motion pictures, it takes a long time for manual processing, limiting the throughput and consistency of detection results. Manually analyzing pirated media is a slow, tedious process and thus limits the ability of an organization to efficiently determine relationships between pirate copies and take timely measures to remediate.
FIG. 1 illustrates basic considerations associated with the conventional video content analysis. In this example, a video or audio/video work includes certain markings 5 that may be deliberately inserted such as a discreet forensic mark or a result of the copying process. For example, marks can be inserted in various frames throughout the work to provide accurate identification by those that have knowledge of the frames and types of markings.
A media work, such as a movie with markings, is released or distributed in some fashion whether it is shown in movie theaters, distributed over the Internet, broadcasting channels, cable network, or distributed by a digital medium such as a DVD 10. These works may represent millions of dollars of effort and expense to bring the work to the public and those involved in the process wish to recoup their investment. If the industry is unable to maintain pricing and demonstrate economic feasibility, such works will not continue to be generated.
While many public members legitimately obtain copies of the work in a proper fashion, there are others that do not, and improper copies of the work are generated 15. The improper copies can be copies of a DVD that have been ripped from the original. In some cases, individuals videotape legitimate showings of a movie such as in a theater, pre-screening, pay-per view or other public displays, thereby creating an unauthorized copy. In still other situations, legitimate copies are procured in a digital format that is then subject to improper copying and distribution.
These improper copies are then distributed 30 without authorization, such as being uploaded to the Internet where the copies proliferate to multiple end-users either free of charge or even for a fee payable to the party misappropriating the work. The improper copies can also be recorded onto recordable media and sold or distributed by unauthorized parties.
In order to curtail these practices, the content owners and those harmed by the improper copying/distribution make attempts at identifying the improper copies and determine where the content was acquired. Once a suspect copy of a work is obtained, manual processing 40 is performed to detect forensic cues to identify whether the copy is improper. This information, if timely, can sometimes be used to help identify the source of the improper copy. The manual processing is labor intensive, is performed by skilled technicians and takes time to obtain an appropriate level of confidence. There are numerous efforts underway to prohibit the copying itself while allowing legitimate users fair-use of content they have acquired appropriately. Eventually, these efforts may reduce illegal copying and distribution, but those that are involved in the improper copying continue to find ways around the prohibitions.
There have been some attempts to help curtail the improper copying and distribution and its associated harm. Various mark embedding technologies have been used including visible markings and invisible markings. Some attempts have also been made towards automating the forensic mark detection including the detection of the embedded marks as well as those markings that occur as a result of the copying. There is continued need for more efficient processing that requires less manual labor and can be performed in a more timely manner while still being able to maintain an appropriate level of confidence in the identification process.